Sunday, 13 September 2015

Il Nome della Rosa – Umberto Eco



Considering my dislike (no, scrap that, it was actual hatred) for Latin, I was not expecting to enjoy so much a tome of these dimensions and with so many passages in a dead language with which I fruitlessly struggled for three years.

Yes, there have been tons of mystery and detective stories set in the Middle Ages lately, but this is something else. Guglielmo and Adso, like Sherlock and Watson, aren’t just insightful, they are a perfect tandem, complement each other, and also have a (monastic, but still highly developed) sense of humour.

The book is a joy to read, although because of its size it’s clearly not one that can be read in a day. And it’s downright thrilling (and scary, at times). Also, we can finally forget the pursuit of the Holy Grail (the only time this was fun was when Indiana Jones was chasing it) or that of other boring relics – for once these monks are fighting for something that actually matters.

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